


Embittered Exhortation

by kheradihr



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Established Relationship, M/M, Mostly Pwp, complicated relationship, possible spoilers if not reading the manga, relationship dynamics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-31
Updated: 2013-05-31
Packaged: 2017-12-13 12:14:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/824193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kheradihr/pseuds/kheradihr
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bertholt always follows Reiner but sometimes he gets frustrated with him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Embittered Exhortation

The ceiling was nothing but dead wood stretching out to conceal the sky. He followed the whorls and knots as if they were the wind flying freely across the land. No matter what path he chose he found it terminated just as he was able to lie to himself about where he was and the imprisonment he chose. It seemed like the universe was determined to remind him that he chose captivity when he could be living free. Free of the stink and stupidity of chattel. Free to be himself without judgment and fear. It was frustrating, he thought as he lifted his hand to the ceiling, denying what he was. He was made for other things, great things but instead he chose a frail life fighting to die.

There was a creak in the floorboards.

But some things were worth the frail life.

He shut his eyes, feigning sleep with one hand flung open to the empty pallet next to him and the other, the one that reached for freedom, draped over his eyes. Footfalls came closer and became quieter until there was nothing. They may lie but when they were alone, together, they were honest. Only he could hear the approaching footfalls because he knew the tremor of them even when the one approaching lacked the dense mass that made him beautiful. He could feel his heat, so unlike his own, close and intimate. He wanted to reach for him but the frustration was too much, too fresh simmering in his veins. So he waited for him to make a move.

Breath bathed his face and he restrained a small smile. “Bertholt.”

Bertholt lay there reveling in how close he leaned in. It was a balm of spice, soothing and inflammatory at once. There was the sound of cloth shifting once twice before dry, chap-chewed lips brushed against his own. He couldn’t hold back the smile any longer.

“Reiner.”

“You weren’t at the point.”

Bertholt could hear the frown in Reiner’s voice. They always met at a jut of stone amidst the forests inside Wall Rose near the training center. It was their time to be apart from the others, to share each other without Connie or Eren interrupting them. But today the feel of the wind plucking at his hair and clothes as if to coax him to run free angered him. So he fled to the dormitories to imagine he was following the wind without the reminder he was imprisoned behind walls. Reiner’s presence, the sheer thought that he sought him out flared something inside him that he let lie dormant for years. Reiner’s calloused hand against his cheek had him moving to catch it at the wrist.

“I couldn’t,” he answered with his eyes still closed. He knew what was above him. Reiner, still frowning, still beautiful with all that strength and speed hidden away. His teeth clenched against the desire to bite the thin flesh at Reiner’s wrist. The desire for blood hot in his mouth and folded steel-hard flesh against his own coupled with the frustration he was feeling was too much. He felt his temperature spike. He shoved Reiner aside to scramble up in a sitting position away from him. The chipping plaster lump on the wall became his focus as he remembered to breathe deep and cycle the heat inside him to energy.

Bertholt could feel the give of the boards as Reiner moved closer. His body temperature flared as the Reiner’s cooler body braced him, reaching for that familiar temperature to mutually warm and equalize. Boots came alongside his bare feet and his hands found the harness straps, tracing idly. He knew them as well as he knew Reiner. It was something that tied their bodies together despite their differences, the same bruises and chafes in the same formations crisscrossing over muscle built for running, not jumping. Reiner’s torso, heavily muscled and full of power leaned against his thinner, taller back and Bertholt dug his thumbs into the dense muscle causing Reiner to lurch forward with a hiss, further into him. He could feel those lips curl through his shirt and ached.

“You’re still upset.” When Bertholt didn’t answer Reiner continued to speak, mouth right against the nape of his neck. “I promise once this is over we’ll be free. I promise, Bertholt. It’ll just be you and me.”

A twist and Reiner was on his back, Bertholt pinning him down. Bertholt’s eyes were too bright, his skin too hot even through Reiner’s jacket and shirt. It had been too long for both of them; the jump in Bertholt’s temperature woke something deep in Reiner. Bertholt’s lips twist viciously.

“No. You cannot promise that. We came here to die. You chose this to be _our graveyard, Reiner_.”

That hand, that too perfect hand reached up to cup his cheek. “At least we’ll die together. Just you and me, Bertholt. Our death will be ours, no one else’s.”

He hated Reiner in that moment. Hated how well they fit together. Hated how that damned hand could hold his entire essence as if it were nothing. He was strong; he was more. He was nothing without Reiner. The frustration boiled over.

Reiner’s shocked gasp was swallowed by Bertholt devouring his mouth. He never indulged like the others, eating to glut. But Reiner was his and he took all he hungered for and Reiner offered all Bertholt would take. Eventually Bertholt wrenched himself away from Reiner to strip.

“No.” Bertholt ground out when Reiner reached for the buckles in his harness. “Keep wearing that.”

Fear clogged Reiner’s throat. Only Bertholt could scare him, awaken the primal fear programmed into his DNA. Nodding he simply leaned back and watched Bertholt bare himself. He was different, skin covering the muscles he knew so well and enjoyed watching as they bunched and moved with each effort. Now they surged toward him, bowling him over onto his back so Bertholt, burning hot and naked covered him again.

One hand shoved roughly up Reiner’s shirt as the other unbuckled the waistbelt on the harness so Bertholt could open his pants. Stroking Reiner to full hardness was easy, he knew each spot on Reiner’s body that would lower his excellent defenses. It was what Bertholt was good at; he was a siege engine after all. It was Reiner’s words, breathless with need and love that set Bertholt alight. That and his damned hands, one over his heart, the other around the nape of his neck, trying to pull him in.

“God, Bertholt. Please.”

“No,” Bertholt snarled. Reiner’s face frozen in shock and fear as Bertholt leaned down and bit the muscle that joined his neck and shoulder. He dug his teeth in hard enough he could almost taste blood, marking Reiner who shuddered, cock bouncing in the circle of Bertholt’s hand. “No,” he repeated, face still buried in Reiner’s neck. “You’re mine.”

“Yours, always yours.”

“Good.”

Hooking Reiner’s knees over his elbows, Bertholt folded him in half, back curved enough that his knees we near his ears. Both hands reached to the back of his belt and with one sharp tug, tightened the entire 3D harness to keep Reiner in place. Despite no longer being a warrior, Reiner struggled against the restraints. Bertholt watched the belts dig further into his flesh, fingers following to press in deeper. As he expected, Reiner only swore and bucked into the air. Disappointed, Bertholt worked Reiner’s pants off of his ass as far as the harness would let him. It was still enough. He stroked himself watching Reiner rock along the curvature of his spine idly. When he got bored with watching Reiner struggle he stood on his knees, skin flushed blood red. He wondered what was going through Reiner’s mind when he laid eyes on him. All he saw was his asshole clench and throat bob. He hoped that the saucer-sized eyes on him held a little fear. He wanted fear from Reiner right now.

Tightening the harness one more time, Bertholt sank into Reiner, centimeter by centimeter, wrenching a high note from deep in Reiner’s throat. When there was no further to go Bertholt rested his forehead against Reiner’s. The desire to hurt Reiner died as he realized something.

“You’re loose.”

“I waited for you,” he choked out, shoulders writhing. It was the only thing that could move; Bertholt had him that tight.

Bertholt didn’t reply, simply pulled himself out of Reiner all the way before slamming back inside. The impact was so strong there was nothing inside Reiner to cry out in pleasure with. True to his nature Bertholt was a piston created to drive force through unbreakable things. Even Reiner could not withstand his onslaught. The wooden bunks creaked ominously.

“Harder,” he gasped, forcing each sound out in the space between each thrust.

“No.”

Utterly denying him anything, Bertholt moved as if a metronome set his pace. He didn’t speed up or slow in the relentless drive he pounded into Reiner. He was gasping, scrabbling for any part of Bertholt he could reach and hold onto. Bertholt was too hot, too much. He was going to burn from the inside out.

“Please, Bertholt, harder.”

“Not unless you change.”

Reiner froze. “You don’t mean…”

“Harden or I won’t let you come.”

The cruelty and resolution in Bertholt’s voice sent shivers through his spine and he nodded. His skin hardened easily with the ache of Bertholt inside him, a thick shell that protected him no matter what he did formed. Bertholt’s fingers ran along the seams that helped with articulated movement. Nothing but awe and love and fierce pride was in his touch and on his face. Raining kisses on Reiner’s face he murmured gratitude and love as his hips jerked in aborted thrusts, body still searing hot.

“Bertholt. Bertholt, let me move,” Reiner whimpered. The harness was too tight. He couldn’t harden enough with the restraints like this. If he hardened any more he would break the harness and that was too difficult to explain. “I can’t—”

His voice finally broke through to Reiner and he blinked, back to himself. He choked out an apology as he unbuckled the harness. The straps snapped free. When Bertholt pulled back to give Reiner space to breathe he was stopped, Reiner’s legs now free caged him in, kept him close and buried inside him. Bertholt trembled as he felt the hardened plates of skin scrape against his own very fragile skin. He had to move, had to get Reiner more comfortable. Moving slowly, he coaxed Reiner to follow him upwards until Reiner was straddling him. Reiner’s back popped as it realigned itself and impaled himself on Bertholt.

But it was Bertholt gently removing his shirt that had Reiner hissing. The harness had left the skin tender and already bruising. Bertholt’s hands against his skin were sheer pain laced with pleasure and his body reacted, hardening his skin further to protect him from assault. Bertholt pressed further, knowing the exact amount of pressure needed to stimulate the nerves so Reiner could enjoy the cocktail of sensations exploding inside him despite his hardened skin. It was then that Reiner took Bertholt’s face in his hands and kissed him thoroughly.

“Move.”

He couldn’t disobey. All the frustration that had built up inside him bled out with the appearance of Reiner’s true skin. Middle and ring fingers of each hand on the double thigh straps ligatures and thumbs in the crease of Reiner’s inner thighs, Bertholt rocked into him. Shuddering, Reiner angled his hips and drove down with each upward thrust. This, not the brutal pounding that Bertholt gave earlier had his temperature ratcheting even higher as the pressure of orgasm built in him painfully subtle.

Terrified he would change, Bertholt opened his mouth and steam slithered free only to be inhaled by Reiner. It was Bertholt’s turn to shudder helplessly as Reiner, still moving on him, fitted his mouth against his and inhaled, taking it all in until there was no heat left in him. Now Reiner held all his heat and swallowed.

He had to move. This was not what he planned or wanted. He didn’t deserve Reiner, his anchor. Fingers dug in as he thrust harder and reached for Reiner’s untouched erection only to be swatted away.

“No. I’m close.” Reiner leaned away, smiling a challenge.

Bertholt grinned and gave in, following him as he always had. Reiner leaned back enough for Bertholt to get his feet underneath his ass before leaning back in.

It didn’t take long; Bertholt’s perfect defense-shattering thrusts met by Reiner’s relentless driving had them both at the edge. Reiner went over first, grinding down hard before his insides clenched tight as orgasm ripped through him. He came hard, come spurting high enough to splatter on Bertholt’s jaw. Then as if he had Reiner’s power, Bertholt rocketed them forward until Reiner’s back was once again on the palette. One, five, a million erratic thrusts later Bertholt came, teeth imbedded in the mark he made earlier. They stayed locked together like that until Reiner’s skin softened and Bertholt shivered from the cold.

They dressed quietly, cleaning quickly from long practice. Free time would end shortly and the dormitory would soon be full of boys. Bertholt helped Reiner into his harness, pulling it tight just to hear him hiss. He nuzzled the bulge in Reiner’s pants, a promise for later.

Exiting the dormitory, Reiner looked over the mass of humanity in the yard. He had his warrior’s eyes on, Bertholt realized.

“Who knows, we may find who we’re looking for here. The sooner we find them, the sooner we can go home.”

Bertholt shivered. He couldn’t tell if it was from the cold or something else. But he hoped Reiner was right.

He always was.

Right?

**Author's Note:**

> This story is for Justin (ukiiukii) who put up with me one night as I tipsily gushed about how much I love relationship dynamics in Shingeki no Kyoujin and then proceeded to send him random paragraphs.


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